Don't Cry for Me?
Fun piece in today's WSJ about Argentine train buffs trying to resurrect an abandoned rail line. Check out the video.
I lived in Argentina for a while (I was an editor at the Buenos Aires Herald) and I discovered that Argentines of a certain age adore trains because they're a reminder of better times. Until the late 40s, Argentina was one of the richest nations on earth, and its rail system -- built by the British -- was the envy of Latin America. Then along came a charismatic leader, with strong backing from the unions, who nationalized the railroads, imposed controls on large sectors of the economy, and created huge new entitlements that bankrupted the nation. Sound familiar?
Obama may not be quite as destructive as Peron (and Peron's heirs), but it's worth remembering that even a large, advanced, resource-rich country can become a banana republic over time.
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Re: Don't Cry for Me?
We always forget how rich and powerful some of those South American nations were, don't we? Argentina, Bolivia -- no one thought of these places as "Third World" until they spent (or taxed; or nationalized) themselves into poverty.
Back in the 1950's, when Lucy married Ricky, nobody thought of it as an "inter-racial marriage." It wasn't avant-garde for the era. That's because Cuba was thought of as a former European colony -- a pocket-sized, Spanish version of the US. Ricky Ricardo wasn't "Hispanic" or even "Latino." He was a Latin, like Franco or Botticelli or Chef Boyardee.
Until, you know, he came along: